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Minerva McGonagall
Professor Minerva McGonagall, O.M. (First Class),10 was a Scottishhalf-blood witch, the only daughter of Muggle Robert McGonagall and witch Isobel Ross. She had two younger brothers, Malcolm and Robert Jr. Minerva was a registered Animagus who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was Sorted into Gryffindor House (but it took the sorting hat five and a half minutes to decide if she was Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, which made her a Hatstall). Physical appearence Minerva McGonagall was first described as a tall, rather severe-looking woman, and later as a "sprightly" seventy-year-old. She often wore emerald green robes or her favourite tartan pattern. She also wore a pointed hat cocked to one side, and always had a very prim expression. She rarely let her black hair down and the majority of the time had it combed back into a tight bun. As Minerva was a fan of tartan print and would often wear it to Quidditch games along with a woolly hat covering her ears. Minerva wore square spectacles that matched the markings around the eyes of her Animagus and Patronus: a silver tabby cat. Magical abilities and skills Minerva McGonagall was an extremely powerful and talented witch whom none should ever underestimate. Her talents were evident even while still a student of Hogwarts, as she was quickly recognised as the most talented student of her year. As an adult, her magical prowess and power allowed her to be the teacher of Transfiguration, a remarkably complex field of magic which Minerva proved to have a particular flair. During the Battle of Hogwarts, her magical skills proved to be incredible, as she was capable of defeating many Dark wizards and even proving able to stand up to Lord Voldemort with aid and survive the encounter. Relashonships Albus dumbledore Minerva knew Albus Dumbledore for the majority of her life. She attended Hogwarts as a student during Dumbledore's time as Transfiguration Professor and even replaced him when he took the position of Headmaster of the school. She served for many years as his Deputy Headmistress, standing in for him and even replacing him as Headmistress on several occasions. Harry potter Minerva showed her care for Harry ever since she, Dumbledore and Hagrid left him in the care of the Dursleys, in part because she had been quite fond of Harry's late parents. She was sort of a loving grandmother to him and expressed concern with both Dumbledore's choice trusting Hagrid to safely transport Harry to Little Whinging, and of the choice of family with whom Harry would stay. She spent hours on end spying on the Dursleys to get an insight to what life for Harry growing up would be like.3 It is unlikely, however, that she kept watch over Harry, as she would never go against Dumbledore's actions, no matter how much she disagreed with them. Severus snape Minerva McGonagall was Severus Snape's professor of Transfiguration during his time as a student at Hogwarts. After he had graduated and then returned as the Potions master, he and McGonagall became colleagues. As Head of Gryffindor House, McGonagall and Snape teased one another about House points and Quidditch standings, acting like friendly rivals to one another. Like Snape, McGonagall was a strict disciplinarian, but appeared faireir to Harry Potter, who was a member of her House. McGonagall and Snape were both demanding and effective teachers, both were unusually talented at magic, and both were loyal to Albus Dumbledore, so over time, Minerva grew to respect Severus despite his dark past. McGonagall knew that Snape was a Death Eater in his youth, but she followed Albus Dumbledore in believing that he truly regretted his former allegiance. She did, however, admit to being suspicious of Snape's true allegiance though she trusted him simply because Albus did. Unusually for Snape, he was on first name terms with McGonagall, showing a certain level of personal friendship. Hermione granger Minerva took a shine to Hermione Granger. During Hermione's Transfiguration first t the lesson, Minerva gave her one of her "rare smiles". She did this when Hermione successfully transfigured a match into a needle early on in the lesson, before any other student. Minerva was also extremely shocked and disappointed in Hermione when she said she had gone looking for the Troll that invaded Hogwarts, under the impression that she could stop it. The claim was not true, but Minerva was none the wiser. Ron weasley Ron Weasley was a student at the time McGonagall was a professor at Hogwarts. Ron was sorted into Gryffindor, McGonagall's house. Ron thought she was very strict, however, he did see her good side on a number of occasions. The two clashed when Harry and he flew Arthur Weasley's flying car to Hogwarts. However, she did not wish to see them expelled. During the Yule Ball, Minerva showed the other students how to dance by dancing with Ron in front of the whole class, a move which prompted laughter from the class and Fred and George agreeing to always tease him about it. Ron is appointed prefect by McGonagall in his fifth year after most likely being persuaded by Dumbledore, as he felt that Harry had enough responsibilities to deal with. Ron and McGonagall fought together during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and the Battle of Hogwarts, surviving the Second Wizarding War. Neville longbottom Minerva had a long history with the Longbottom family, having served in the Order of the Phoenix with Neville's parents (who were eventually tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange). She also had a personal relationship with Neville's grandmother, who raised him. McGonagall frequently seemed to expect more from Neville than he produced, starting with Neville's first day at Hogwarts when he ran out of a crowd after his toad.3 When Neville "lost" his scrap of parchment (which was actually stolen by Crookshanks) with Gryffindor's passwords on them, allowing Sirius Black to enter the common room, Minerva was furious with him. Draco malfoy While Professor Snape favoured students of his own house, and often overlooked any misbehaviour from students like Draco Malfoy, McGonagall had little tolerance for nonsense from any student, regardless of their house, and took no notice of the Malfoy family's status within the wizarding community. As she was not a Slytherin, Malfoy did not respect her at all but was never foolish enough to make this clear in front of her. Rubeus hagrid Rubeus Hagrid respected McGonagall. Hagrid was the gamekeeper, and later Care of Magical Creatures professor of Hogwarts. McGonagall was one of the most serious professors at Hogwarts, and sometimes disapproved of Hagrid's behaviour, especially during the Sorting ceremony. However, they were still close friends, were both members of the Order of the Phoenix in both wars, and they both admired Albus Dumbledore. Sybill tralawny Minerva and Sybill Trelawney were not the best of friends, and barely maintained civility between them. Minerva had no use for Sybill's subject, Divination, and she believed that Trelawney was a fraud. The only reason Minerva has never spoken ill of Sybill directly was due to her refusal to insult her colleagues. Pomona sprout The relationship between Professor McGonagall and Professor Sproutdates back to when both attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.10 The two students maintained an excellent relationship, which was kept well into their adulthood. When Dolores Umbridge stood to speak during the 1995 Welcoming Feast after her introduction by Headmaster Dumbledore, the two professors were both taken aback at this, and even exchange glances of disapproval.9 Furthermore, during the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May, 1998, Minerva and Pomona had the same views on protecting the Castle against Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. Hogwarts staff McGonagall seemed to have a good relationship with most of her co-workers at Hogwarts. Among them was Filius Flitwick. Flitwick fought alongside McGonagall in the Battle of Hogwarts and survived the Second Wizarding War. Lord voldemort During the First Wizarding War, Minerva joined the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, using her skill as an Animagi to spy on the Dark Lord's followers and report her findings to the Auror Office. During his second rise to power, Minerva joined the Order of the Phoenix and stayed in Hogwarts during the tenure of Severus Snape as Headmaster and the Carrows to protect her students. She is one of the few people that isn't afraid of standing against the Carrows, as she did defy them many times during the 1997-1998 school year. Dolores umbridge Minerva disliked Dolores Umbridge right from the beginning when the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher began to invade Hogwarts with her Hogwarts High Inquisitor position and did everything she could in her power to circumvent Umbridge's authority without risking the loss of her job. During Umbridge's inspections of McGonagall's class, Minerva tried for the most part to ignore Umbridge. This was difficult due to Umbridge's constant interruptions by means Umbridge's soft, girlish cough of "Hem hem". When forced to acknowledge Umbridge's presence, McGonagall treated her with a cold and harsh demeanour. Weasley family McGonagall and the Weasleys get along well, considering they were all in Gryffindor House and fellow members of the Order of the Phoenix. However, she disapproved of Fred and George Weasley's behaviour at school, although she still seemed impressed by their magical skills. When Dolores Umbridge was appointed as High Inquisitor for Hogwarts, Minerva allied with the twins and attempted to oppose Umbridge. The Marauders and Lily Evans McGonagall had long been the Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts by the time Lily Evans and the Marauders attended as students. The Marauders were four great friends: Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter. They were all sorted into the Gryffindorhouse, and despite their boisterous ways, at odds with Minerva's no-nonsense reputation, they seemed to have a good relationship with her. Order of the pheonix members McGonagall had a good relationship with most members of the Order of the Phoenix. Some of them included Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody. McGonagall and Tonks, like most people, were both devastated after Dumbledore's death. Tonks fought in several battles for the Order, but was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange during the Battle of Hogwarts. Etymology * Minerva is the Roman name of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, strategy, and justice, (among other things), and a name suitable for Minerva's personality. Minerva was also the goddess of commerce and schools, which could connect to her being one of the heads of Hogwarts. The name Minerva also means "wise." * McGonagall comes from the Scotsman William Topaz McGonagall, who is considered to be one of the worst poets in the English language, although Rowling stated that this has nothing to do with Minerva, she only liked the surname. The Scottish name McGonagall (or McGonigle, McGonegal) is from the Celtic name Conegal, meaning "the bravest," plus Mc, or "son of." Appearences * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 * LEGO Harry Potter * Pottermore * Harry Potter Trading Card Game * The Making of Harry Potter * Harry Potter for Kinect * Harry Potter: The Character Vault * Harry Potter: The Creature Vault * LEGO Dimensions * Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies * Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery32 * Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald * Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay Category:Animagi Category:Battle of hogwarts participants Category:Battle of the astronomy tower participants Category:Blood traitors Category:Chocolate frog cards Category:Department of Magical Law Enforcement personnel